Blog — Syria

Monday May 07, 2012

Syrian Elections Marred By Continuing Violence

Despite the violence and instability rocking the country, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad desperately wants Syrians and outside observers to believe everything is just fine. Read More »

Posted by Jeffrey Wright at 5:30 pm / / Leave a comment

Tuesday April 10, 2012

Watch: Hill Briefing: Religious Plurality in the Middle East

Tomorrow, AAI will be hosting a congressional briefing on the current situation of religious minorities in the Middle East. Read More »

Posted by Samer Araabi at 3:11 pm / / Leave a comment

Friday April 06, 2012

Deadlock over Syria: Civil War or Foreign Intervention

There’s an interesting article in Le Monde Diplomatique about the Syrian uprising, its complications, and its regional effects. Read More »

Posted by Samer Araabi at 3:59 pm / / Leave a comment

Thursday April 05, 2012

AAIF Recognizes Ambassador Kattouf for Three Decades of Public Service

This year, the Arab American Institute Foundation’s (AAIF) Kahlil Gibran “Spirit of Humanity” Awards Gala features a number of exceptional awardees. Receiving the Najeeb Halaby Award for Public Service is Ambassador Theodore H. Kattouf, president and CEO of AMIDEAST. Since 1972 Ambassador Kattouf, a former U.S. Ambassador to the UAE and Syria, has led a distinguished Foreign Service career, serving throughout the Middle East, including posts in Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.  Read More »

Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:02 pm / / Leave a comment

Friday March 23, 2012

DHS Approves TPS Request for Syrians

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), along with the Arab American Institute (AAI), United for Free Syria (UFS) and the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), welcome the decision made by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano to approve the submitted Request for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrian nationals. Read More »

Posted by AAI at 1:18 pm / / Leave a comment

Thursday March 15, 2012

What Comes Next?

One year ago today, Syrians took to the streets amid an atmosphere of self-assurance and optimism as ossified regimes collapsed all around them. One year later, that initial optimism has vanished as the uprising has struggled to maintain momentum against brutal repression and international paralysis. So, what comes next? Read More »

Posted by Samer Araabi at 8:48 pm / / Leave a comment

Wednesday March 14, 2012

AAI Releases Decade of Arab Opinion polls

AAI has launched a web-based Arab opinion poll section featuring data from the past ten years on a range of issues. Among the polling data released today are numbers showing the Syrian regime is facing increased regional isolation and that Bashar al-Assad's favorable ratings are at an all time low.  Read More »

Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:30 pm / / Leave a comment

Wednesday March 14, 2012

ThinkProgress Weighs in on Temporary Protected Status for Syrian Nationals

Though ThinkProgress is right to point out the lack of Republican support for Temporary Protected Status, the real tragedy is the lack of interest on this issue from all parts of government. Read More »

Posted by Samer Araabi at 11:12 am / / Leave a comment

Wednesday March 07, 2012

AIPAC: Three Candidates, Three Takeaways

With exception of Ron Paul, the GOP presidential candidates all spoke at the AIPAC policy conference yesterday. All of the three candidates delivered a similar message on Iran, taking the opportunity to hit out at president Obama's policies. Iran's nuclear program was the clear focus of the conference, overshadowing any other issue, including the peace process, by far. Despite similar messaging on Iran, the candidate speeches each have their own unique takeaways. I've outlined the ones I thought were the most important in this post.  Read More »

Posted by Omar Tewfik at 10:45 am / / Leave a comment

Thursday March 01, 2012

Senators ask Obama to Implement TPS for Syrian Nationals

Following months of community pressure on the Obama administration and the Department of Homeland Security to grant Temporary Protected Status to Syrian nationals currently residing in the United States, six U.S. Senators today co-signed a letter to President Obama urging him to implement TPS immediately Read More »

Posted by Samer Araabi at 3:32 pm / / Leave a comment

Friday February 24, 2012

ADC & AAI:  Joint Statement Regarding Temporary Protected Status

Today, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI) and representatives from a number of Arab American and Syrian American organizations met with officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to discuss the implementation of government protections for Syrian nationals currently residing in the United States. Read More »

Posted by Samer Araabi at 4:31 pm / / Leave a comment

Tuesday February 21, 2012

Arab American Journalists Pay Tribute to Anthony Shadid

Anthony Shadid inspired a generation of Arab American Journalists–journalists who are now some of the most influential and well-respected reporters covering the Arab world. With his tragic passing in Syria last week, many of the friends and fellow journalists touched by Shadid’s life and work paid tribute to his memory by sharing his contributions to both their professional and personal growth. Read More »

Posted by Omar Tewfik at 12:35 pm / / Leave a comment

Friday February 10, 2012

Do Not Distort Calls for Moral Consistency

To be clear, the issue here isn’t the fact that the U.S. has cast a veto or two in the past that weren’t morally defensible. It’s the fact that the U.S. has used its veto to shield Israel from international criticism for its crimes against the Palestinian people more times than the combined total of all vetoes cast by all the other permanent members of the UN Security Council on all issues. Take a moment to reread that last sentence.  Read More »

Posted by Omar Baddar at 3:59 pm / / Leave a comment

Monday January 30, 2012

No End in Sight for Syrian Uprising

By Jeffrey Wright
An uprising that began as a conflict between peaceful protesters and violent state security forces is increasingly becoming a conflict between armed groups. Read More »

Posted by Guest at 1:17 pm / / Leave a comment

Friday January 27, 2012

TPS for Syrians Gaining Momentum

Responding to increasing requests from the Arab American community, the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to a meeting with community leaders to discuss the possibility of granting a Temporary Protected Status designation for Syrian nationals currently residing in the United States. Read More »

Posted by AAI at 12:07 pm / / Leave a comment

Friday January 13, 2012

Is Assad Counting on the Intifada Model?

You’d think someone in that government would’ve noticed by now that violence is futile and that a new course must be taken. Read More »

Posted by Omar Baddar at 4:48 pm / / Leave a comment

Wednesday January 11, 2012

“Arab Voices” Available in Paperback

Last year, AAI President Jim Zogby's book on the Arab world, Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us and Why It Matters, was released to major acclaim and brisk sales. This month, Arab Voices came out in paperback with a new section on the Arab Spring. The book, and the polling it is based on, have proved invaluable to many analysts and policy makers as they try to better understand the changes taking place in the region.  Read More »

Posted by AAI at 2:44 pm / / Leave a comment

Friday December 23, 2011

Violence Mars “Arab Spring”

This morning, we heard the tragic news of twin suicide bombings in Damascus that killed at least 40 people and injured over a hundred, amid ever more valid fears that Syria is probably sliding towards civil war. Meanwhile in Egypt, footage emergedof the brutal beating and shooting of protesters, and one woman suffered a very serious head injury from repeated clubbing by the army’s anti-riot force. In Iraq, a dozen coordinated bombings killed at least 60 people and injured over 200. Could anyone have imagined this climate was less than a year away from the euphoria following Mubarak’s ouster? Read More »

Posted by Omar Baddar at 1:12 pm / / Leave a comment

Tuesday December 20, 2011

Yalla Change Roundtable Marks Arab Spring Anniversary

On the one-year anniversary of the Arab Spring, AAI hosted a roundtable discussion with Syrian democracy activist Rami Nakhle, Al Jazeera’s “The Stream” co-host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a select group of journalism and communications students from all across Egypt, and Arab American students and activists. The purpose of the discussion was to connect agents of change from the Arab World with Arab American activists to exchange experiences and learn how best we can bring change about here at home. Read More »

Posted by Omar Baddar at 5:00 pm / / Leave a comment

Tuesday December 20, 2011

AAI Requests Obama Grant Temporary Protected Status for Syrian Nationals in U.S.

Yesterday, the Arab American Institute, in a formal request to the Obama administration, asked for Temporary Protected Status privileges to be extended to Syrian citizens currently residing in the United States. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a procedure by which the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide temporary asylum to individuals who are in America and who cannot safely return to their home countries. Read More »

Posted by Samer Araabi at 1:40 pm / / Leave a comment

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